A unique blog dedicated to covering the worlds of book publishing and the news media, revealing creative ideas, practical strategies, interesting stories, and provocative opinions. Along the way, discover savvy but entertaining insights on book marketing, public relations, branding, and advertising from a veteran of two decades in the industry of book publishing publicity and marketing.

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Monday, August 18, 2014

Have You Seen Your Book On Broadway?

Can
ordinary authors, many of whom are unknown and untested, command Broadway
ticket prices for special events that combine your standard author talk and
sign with food, music, and other goodies?

A
recent article in The Washington Post (owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos) discussed
how bestselling author Jodi Picoult commanded a $95 fee for a special event
co-hosted by her publisher, Penguin-Random House, and Good Housekeeping. Fans received a signed advance review copy of
her upcoming book, music and dancing, a buffet dinner with wine, a chocolate
tasting, and a fashion preview curated by Talbot’s. It’s as if an entire mall of things and
events came under one roof.

I
love it. Book publishing absolutely
should innovate like this. The venue
was the Mead Center in Southwest Washington, DC. If bookstores can’t figure out how to make
things like this happen, then non-bookstores are the next best place to spread
the word.

It’s
a simple formula – present an author/book along with other things that people
value and turn the moment into an event that gets people talking.

Penguin-Random
House seems to be leading the way. They
got 500 people to pony up $150 to attend an event for bestselling author Diana
Gabaldon, and in the fall it will team with Redbook magazine to launch Sophie
Kinsella’s new book at a spa.

Does
this mean authors will no longer speak for free or the price of a book? Of course not. These authors will still promote anyway they
can – webinars, seminars, bookstore signings, library chats, social media and
all the ways one gets the buzz going.
But it’s nice to see authors are elevated into stores and that, by
association with other popular brands, they are being viewed as desirable and
important.

Can
this type of event translate into something first-time, or self-published, or
midlist authors can do? I don’t see
why not.

First,
start with a theme. In the megastar
scenario, the name author is a draw. In
the unknown author version, the draw will be the event’s variety and the theme
of not one author, but perhaps a panel of authors. Maybe these events are lower-priced or they
involve book giveaways and not book sales.
The goal for the author is exposure and the partners or sponsoring businesses
will also get exposure and bank some of the proceeds.

Second,
why not take the event idea further. How
about creating a theatre for authors.
They can be 100-to-300 seat theatres where admission fees are charged to
hear authors speak, signed books can be sold or given away, and other partners
can be brought in as well.

Authors
should view themselves as part of the entertainment economy, no matter the
subject or genre of their books. Create
a show rather than a “talk.” Give people
a book plus something else, and not just a book.

Let’s
make it a mobile show. Imagine a book
event on a train, bus, or plane – or one that’s held in a restaurant, hotel, or
underutilized cinema house or church.
How about a book pajama party or a book camping trip?

The
goal of all this is not necessarily to become a celebrity, but rather, to try
new approaches and vehicles to further books in general and your author brand
in particular. Books can be marketed in
a way that elevates the author and puts him or her on par with musicians,
actors, journalists, and community leaders.

It’s
time to put some showmanship into book marketing. Books on Broadway. It has a nice ring to it.

About Me

Brian Feinblum, the creator and author of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, is the chief marketing officer for the nation's largest book promotions firm, Media Connect (www.Media-Connect.com), formerly Planned Television Arts, and has been involved in book publicity and marketing since 1989. He has served several book publishing companies as a publicist, book editor, and acquisitions editor. Brian, who earned a BA in English from Brooklyn College, became a published author in 1995 when he penned The Florida Homeowner, Condo and Co-Op Handbook. He resides in Westchester, New York with his wife, two young children, and an English Bulldog.